Soundless
by Silvery Dire Wolf
Summary: Peeta Mellark has always had a way with words. His stunning performance in the interviews before the Games and Quarter Quell made the audience fall in love with Katniss. But when he is captured by the Capitol, President Snow decides to take away his ability to speak. His tongue is cut out, rendering him mute, and he is delivered to Katniss in District 13. Set during Mockingjay.
1. Chapter 1

Peeta is never hijacked. This is what happens to him instead.

* * *

><p>Nothing is worse than losing the ability to communicate. I used to have a way with words. I was able to captivate an audience with a simple speech. It was one of my few talents. But now, the words I long to say will forever go unspoken. I can't voice my opinion on the war. I can't hold a conversation with anyone. I can't even say my own name! And the worst part is knowing that I will <em>never<em> be able to speak again.

President Snow did this to me. He said that words were my greatest asset and I would be nothing without them. He gave the order to cut out my tongue under the pretense of making me an Avox. But his true intentions are much more cruel than I had imagined. Snow plans to hand me over to Katniss in order to hurt her.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the hovercraft's engine turning off. Two large peacekeepers escort me to the door and then promptly kick me out. I fall to the ground in a heap, dazed and confused. Where am I? Why have I been brought here? I look around at the ruble and debris of what must be District 13. I've heard Snow talk about how the once forgotten district is aiding in the rebellion.

I hear gunfire and instinctively cover my head. Soldiers gather outside to defend their district from the enemy craft. The hovercraft takes to the sky and disappears without a trace. The shots ring out for awhile longer and then abruptly stop. Have they noticed me? Are they going to kill me now?

Then I see her, Katniss Everdeen, shoving her way through the crowd of soldiers. She is screaming my name as they move aside to let her through. It's not long before her arms are around me, crushing me against her shaking body.

"Peeta! You're alive," she sobs into my chest. "I was so worried."

I curl my arms protectively around her. No one in the Capitol would tell me what happened to the others after the Quarter Quell. I had no way of knowing whether Katniss had lived or died, and the thought of her being dead was too much to bare. I spent so many nights crying myself to sleep, hoping that she had somehow survived.

A sudden fear grips my heart. How will she react when she finds out what Snow has done to me? Will she be repulsed by me? Will she never want to kiss me again? It must be weird to kiss someone who doesn't have a tongue.

She is waiting for me to say something, but the words remain trapped in my throat. I pull away from her and shake my head. How can I explain the situation without speaking?

My silence worries her. "Peeta, what's wrong?"

I use my finger to write 'my tongue' in the dirt. She immediately grabs my face and forces open my mouth. She gasps and covers her own mouth with her hand. I knew it. She is disgusted by me. I let the tears drip down my cheeks as I write 'you hate me'.

"No!" She clutches me tighter than before. "You're wrong. I don't hate you. I could never hate you." As if to prove it to me, Katniss presses her lips against mine.

The kiss is full of passion and longing, and I can't help smiling against her lips. A gentle warmth spreads through my body as I return the kiss. I feel loved and safe for the first time in along time.

She pulls away and brushes her fingers through my hair. "I thought you were dead."

I want to tell her that I'll never leave her, but I settle for scribbling the word 'never' in the dirt.

We stay like this for a long time, reassured by each other's presence. She is here with me, alive and well in District 13. I no longer have to worry about safety, because we are back together. I'm never letting her go again.

When the sun begins to set, Katniss tells me it's time to go inside. I'm a little nervous about being underground, but she assures me that it isn't so bad. Our hands our clasped tightly together as she guilds me deeper and deeper into the earth. I feel as if the walls are going to fall down around us, burying us alive. That doesn't happen, of course, and we make it to her house without incident.

Her mother is waiting for us on the porch. "I heard about your condition," she says to me. "Let me see."

I hesitantly open my mouth and allow her to assess the damage. Katniss never lets go of my hand while her mother examines me. I begin to worry when the silence remains unbroken for an unnaturally long time. Maybe it's worse than I originally thought. No, that's impossible. What can be worse than having my tongue cut out?

"The wound isn't infected," she tells us. "But..."

Katniss bites her lip. "But?"

Mrs. Everdeen places a hand on my shoulder and leads me inside. "It looks like it was done recently. You must be in a lot of pain."

I let her clean the wound in my mouth, and she gives me some pain medication. I honestly hadn't paid much attention to the pain. What bothers me the most is the silence. I've lost my ability to communicate with spoken words, and that makes me sad. But now, the pain hits me full force. I pop a pill into my mouth and wash it down with some water.

Katniss brings me a notepad and a pen. "Here."

I quickly jot down the words 'thank you'.

Her family is kind enough to let me stay the night. Katniss fixes me a bed on the couch and then makes one for herself on the floor. She insists on staying by my side, and I'm grateful for her company. I crawl into the makeshift bed and relax. But I can't sleep. I'm afraid that I'll wake up in the Capitol, strapped to a table as the take something else from me. I don't want to go back; I want to stay here with Katniss.

"Can't sleep?" she asks.

I look down at her from my spot on the couch. 'No,' I write.

She shines a flashlight on my notepad. "Me either."

I'm suddenly worried that I won't adjust to life without being able to speak. I'll be unable to communicate at all if I forget the notepad. On top of that, people might treat me differently for not having a tongue. 'What happens now?'

My words seem to anger her. She must have guessed what I'm thinking. "Life goes on, Peeta. It went on when I thought you were dead, and it will go on even though you lost your tongue." She reaches for my hand and her voice softens. "You are still you. You are still the same Peeta Mellark who survived two arenas with me. That will never change."


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss is curled up at my side when I wake up in the morning. Her arms are wrapped tightly around my waist, almost as if she is afraid to let go, but there is a peaceful expression on her face. She looks completely relaxed.

I don't want to wake her, but we can't sleep all day. My fingers make there way to her forehead and gently rub her skin. Her eyes flutter open, and she smiles at me.

"Good morning," she says softly.

I can't speak with my mouth, only my fingers. I continue to rub her forehead until I'm sure she understands what I mean.

She sits up and swings her legs over the edge of the couch, stretching her tense limbs. She takes my hand and shows me where to get my schedule for the day. While I'm trying to comprehend how strict District 13 is, Katniss wanders off to get me some of the most unattractive clothing I have ever seen.

"I know what you're thinking," she tells me as she holds up my clothes.

I raise an eyebrow, as if to say, 'you do?'

She nods. "Yes. If you think this is bad, just wait until you try the food."

A strangled sound escapes my lips. It seems that laughing is also out of the question, so I offer her a bright smile instead. To my relief, Katniss understands what I mean.

She turns away from me so that I can change in privacy. "That smile will be your way of laughing. If I see it, I'll know that you thought something was funny. And you touching my forehead will be your way of saying good morning."

As I throw on the ugly clothes, her words melt my heart. She is trying to understand me and help me through the tough times that lie ahead. I know it must be hard for her to see me like this. There is little doubt in my mind that she is blaming herself for letting me get captured. Does she think that my condition is her fault? I sure hope not.

"It's time for breakfast." Katniss grabs my notepad and gives it to me. Then she takes my hand and leads me to the cafeteria. "What is your schedule for today?"

I shrug and show her my arm.

"Coin wants to see you," she says grimly. My look of confusion grants me further explanation. "Alma Coin. She is the president of District 13."

The _president_ wants to see me? I'm suddenly feeling extremely nervous and on edge. Does she think I know some of the Capitol's secrets? My time there was spent in a prison cell, so I know absolutely nothing about what Snow is plotting.

I write the words 'come with me?' on my notepad.

"Of course," Katniss says immediately. "But she can wait until after we've had breakfast."

The cafeteria is crowded and noisy. I get bowl of what looks like oatmeal and sit down at an empty table. Katniss is quick to join me. I take a bite and nearly gag at the nasty smell of it. She wasn't kidding: the food really is terrible. I gulp down as much as I can before throwing the rest away.

Katniss is taking her time eating that sorry excuse for a meal, and I have to wonder why she is so reluctant to see the president with me. Is this Coin person terrifying? Do they dislike each other? Either way, it seems kind of rude to make the president wait.

"I'm done," she says at last, throwing the slop in the trash.

We slowly make our way to Coin's office. Katniss has a worried look on her face, but she won't tell me the cause of her distress. Is it me? I can't be sure.

"Peeta, remember those propaganda videos you did for the Capitol?" She asks. I nod, and she continues. "What you said might have branded you a traitor."

I'm not a traitor! Snow promised not to hurt her if I spoke in some of his videos, and I agreed without hesitation. I'm on Katniss' side. Always.

I write one word on my notepad: you.

"Me?" It takes her a minute to understand the full meaning of what I wrote. "You did it for me? Oh, Peeta..."

I sketch a quick picture of a shield and show it to her.

"You were protecting me." She gives me a quick kiss. "Let's go."

I push open the door and am greeted by an older woman with gray hair. That must be Coin.

"He didn't mean any of those things he said in the propaganda videos," Katniss says.

Coin ignores her and focuses on me. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Mellark." She informs me of the destruction of District 12 and the unknown whereabouts of my family.

The news doesn't come as a surprise to me. I had the misfortune of hearing it from Snow, who used the knowledge to hurt me when I wouldn't cooperate. When that didn't work, he threatened Katniss.

"You should know that your words have negatively impacted our efforts to gain allies from some of the other districts," Coin tells me.

My hands are trembling as I write 'sorry' on the notepad. 'I was protecting someone' I add underneath.

"Snow fixed the problem himself, thankfully."

Katniss clenches her hands into fists. "He didn't do anything to deserve this! It's not his fault that you didn't save him after the Quarter Quell!" She is about to run out of the room when Coin's voice stops her.

"Calm down, Ms. Everdeen. If Mr. Mellark poses no threat to us, then he can live here. If he turns out to be a Capitol spy, then I will not hesitate to end his life."

Katniss considers this for a moment. "Give us an apartment that we can share."

I stare at her, dumbfounded. She wants to live with me? The thought makes me happy, but won't she miss her family?

"Fine," Coin agrees. "You may share the empty apartment next to your family's."

Katniss grabs my hand and pulls me out of the office. I can tell that she is still angry by the way her fingernails are digging into my skin. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "For what she said. It was cruel."

I lightly squeeze her hand and shake my head. I'm not upset, not even a little. 'Why?' I ask, sketching a house beside my question.

"Um, well..." She quickly changes the subject. "Want to see it?"

She disregards her schedule and takes me to our new home. The living room is small and would be devoid of furniture if not for a single couch. The bathroom is cramped and feels more like a cardboard box than a room. There is only one bedroom in the apartment. It contains a nightstand and one bed.

Katniss and I stare at the only bed in silence. She can have it, and I will sleep on the couch. Problem solved. 'You take it,' I write.

She shakes her head. "No. It's _our_ bed. We can share it."


	3. Chapter 3

We spend the rest of the day ignoring our schedules and hanging out. We've made a silent agreement to never get separated again. Splitting up landed me in the Capitol and her in District 13, both of us worrying about the other. But absence really does make the heart grow fonder. She seems to have a better understanding of her feelings for me now than she did during the Quarter Quell.

It's hard to believe that she actually cares for me, that she may even love me. She broke my heart once, but part of it was my fault. I shouldn't have forced the romance thing on her, and I shouldn't have gotten upset when she told me it was all for the Games. She saved my life. I will always be grateful to her for not killing me when she had the chance.

What really makes me happy is that Katniss is so willing to help me. We are coming up with our own way to communicate, our own language. She notices the little things I do and tries to figure me out. Like how I flick my wrist when I'm nervous. She pays close attention to my facial expressions and tries to understand them.

When night falls, Katniss and I crawl into bed. It's nice to feel close to someone again, and it's so easy to fall asleep when she is in my arms.

We are forced to get up bright and early to star in a propaganda video. Coin wants to use me in order to show the districts how cruel the Capitol is. I don't mind much, but Katniss is furious.

"You can't threaten Peeta's life one moment and then use him the next chance you get! I won't let you show his pain to all of Panem!" she shouts.

"It's not your decision," Coin replies calmly. "It's ours. Mr. Mellark needs to make himself useful if he expects to live here."

It's obvious that she thinks I'm useless without my tongue. Katniss seems to realize this as well, which only serves to fuel her anger. "Are you saying he's useless?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Ms. Everdeen. Would you rather we treat him like a traitor?" She crosses her arms and looks directly at me. "Or we could treat him like an avox."

Ouch. That avox comment hurt. It reminds me of all the ones I saw in the Capitol. So miserable, so lonely. I feel sorry for them.

"Don't you dare." Katniss lunges at Coin, but I catch her wrist before she can do anything. She quickly returns to her senses. "Peeta..."

I shake my head. Violence isn't the answer. It won't change anyone's opinion of me.

"He isn't useless," she insists.

Coin sighs heavily. "Then let us film him. And Ms. Everdeen, you need to learn some discipline. You and Mr. Mellark are to train as soldiers for the rebellion from now on."

Me, a soldier? Me? I can't gun down people as if they are nothing more than obstacles. I can't wield a gun at all, let alone use it to kill someone.

"Fine," Katniss says, sounding defeated. "I made things worse for us, Peeta."

I shrug to let her know it's okay.

"Don't act like I did nothing wrong. It's my fault-" she stops mid-sentence and stares at me. "Did I just understand you?"

I stare back at her, amazed. Katniss understood what I was trying to get across without me having to write it down. I nod my head enthusiastically.

"I knew it." She reaches up to touch my face, tears in her eyes. "You and I really can survive anything together."

My condition must have caused her great distress, but she never made her feelings known to me. Was she afraid that things wouldn't be the same between us? She never acted like she had any doubts.

Coin coughs to remind us that she is there. "If you two are finished, can we please get started?"

I sit in a chair as a makeup artist makes my face look bruised and disfigured. She messes up my hair and tears my clothes. "All you have to do is look like you're in pain," she tells me.

The cameramen begin filming Katniss, who is angrily pacing the set. "You think the Capitol cares about the average, innocent citizen? I'm sorry to inform you that they don't. You are as disposable as trash to them. They won't hesitate to punish you for no good reason. Just look at what they've done to Peeta!" She spins around to face me.

I make myself look as miserable as possible before opening my mouth.

"He didn't do anything wrong! The Capitol captured him, tortured him, and cut out his tongue in order to hurt me. Punishing him was only a means to an end. This is what the Capitol does." Katniss looks directly at the camera. "Snow, you're a coward for harming someone I care about. You think you're hurting me? Well, you're wrong. Peeta and I are strong enough to overcome anything you throw at us! But if you even _think_ of touching him again, I'll take you down myself!"

The video is complete, and everyone starts applauding Katniss' performance. She truly was amazing on the set. Her anger was very believable.

'Nice acting,' I write.

She blushes and averts her gaze. "I wasn't acting."

"Well done," Coin says as she approaches us. "We should let you go off script more often."

Katniss doesn't meet her gaze. "Can we go now?"

"Make sure to show up for training," she says to us. "If you are absent, I will find something else for Mr. Mellark to do."

Katniss drags me into the hallway. "Don't you see what she's doing? She is using you to keep me in line! Just like Snow was using you to hurt me!"

That's true. Coin threatened to make me an Avox if Katniss doesn't obey her commands. I grab my notepad and put my thoughts in writing. 'I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble.'

"No, Peeta. That's not what I meant." I watch as she studies her hands for a long time. She must be thinking hard about what to say next. "Coin isn't treating you like a person."

'Because I can't speak,' I conclude.

When Katniss doesn't answer, I know that my assumption is correct. I'm nothing without my words. No one wants to wait for me to jot down my thoughts on paper. It takes too long for me to write them and for them to be read. Speaking is so much more convenient, but it is a luxury I no longer have.

We walk to the training area in silence. I'm too wrapped up in my own sorrow to converse with her, and she seems to recognize my need to wallow in misery for awhile. I deserve at least that much after being tortured by the Capitol.

She stops suddenly and turns to face me. Her intense, angry expression softens. "Peeta, I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me if you can't talk. I missed you so much when you were captured." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out something that I can't see. She opens her hand, revealing a pearl.

My breath catches in my throat. She kept the pearl I gave her during the Quarter Quell. Our eyes meet, and I'm suddenly overwhelmed with joy.

"This kept me sane when you were in the Capitol. I would hold it close if I started to miss you. I wanted you back." She cradles it in her hand.

It's so unlike Katniss to share her personal thoughts and emotions; she usually avoids talking about herself. But she knows that I desperately need to hear this. I need to hear that my life matters to at least one person.

"And now that you're back, I couldn't be happier." She carefully places the pearl back in her pocket. "So don't worry. We're in this together."


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss walks right up to the training instructor and introduces us. "I'm Katniss Everdeen, and this is Peeta Mellark."

The instructor raises his hand to silence her. "I know who you are. Girls to the left; boys to the right. Get moving."

"Wait, you can't separate us," she argues angrily. "Peeta needs my help."

"You two are here to learn how to fight in a war, not to be coddled." He pulls us apart and shoves me into the boys' line. "Ten laps!"

I fall behind within the first lap or so due to my prosthetic leg. I had hoped to prove myself by keeping up with the other boys, but I had forgotten how slow I really am. I'm running alongside an out of shape younger boy. He tries to pass me but can't manage it.

The two of us are the last to make it back to the instructor. The younger boy is dismissed, but I am forced to explain myself. I lift up my pant leg to show him my prosthetic. This doesn't seem to satisfy him. "If you can't talk and you can't run, can you at least shoot?"

I'm handed a gun and told to fire at nearby targets. The bullets come out faster than I expected, and I soon realize that I can't control it. The noise hurts my ears, and the heavy object feels strange in my hands. I don't like it.

The gun is yanked away from me before I can protest. "It seems that you can't shoot either. What _can_ you do?"

I want to ask why he is picking on me instead of training me, but my notepad is out of my reach. I set it down when I started running the ten laps. Without it, I can't communicate with anyone other than Katniss. I begin to panic. He wants an answer that I'm not capable of giving.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

That was cruel. Do all the higher-ups in this district hate me? As I blink away tears, two men approach us. One of them is visibly upset and the other is angry.

"What the hell are you doing?" the angry man asks. The other one places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

The instructor is taken aback. "Teaching this kid how to fight. It's none of your business how I go about training my students, Castor."

Castor clenches his fists and takes a threatening step forward. "We've been watching you. All you've done is treat this poor kid like he's worthless. You even had the nerve to separate him from his only sense of security in the entire district!"

The other man makes some of the strangest hand gestures I've ever seen. Castor nods in agreement and speaks again. "Treating him differently than the others is considered bullying, not training. We'll be leaving now."

I'm gently lead away by the two strangers. Once we're out of earshot, Castor turns to me and introduces himself. "I'm Castor. This is my brother Pollux. He's like you."

Like me? I take a good look a Pollux and realize that he hasn't spoken a word this entire time. Is he also missing his tongue? I suddenly feel very calm around them. They came to my rescue when no one else would.

"And you must be Peeta," he says with a smile. "We were Katniss' cameramen for the propaganda videos. We would have met sooner if Coin had allowed us to film you this morning."

Pollux hands me my notepad, and I scribble the words 'thank you' on a blank page.

"It's no problem," Castor assures me. "We'll swing by your place later and show you an easier way to communicate."

'See you later.' I wave to them as they return to their work. It's nice to know that there are other people willing to stand up for me.

I make my way over to Katniss, who has collapsed onto the ground. She doesn't look up when I sit beside her and pull her into my arms. "Peeta," she mumbles. "My legs feel like pudding."

I undo her braid and begin brushing her hair with my fingers. My actions bring a small smile to her face. She looks so worn out. It must have been awhile since she did anything this strenuous. 'I met Castor and Pollux,' I tell her.

"You did?" She shifts into a sitting position.

'They will be coming over later to help me. I like them.'

She tilts her head back in order to see my face. "Me too."

We leave training early because Katniss wants to show me something. It turns out that I have a bigger support system than I realized. Finnick is glad to see me and doesn't seem repulsed by my condition. He is a little unstable without Annie, but he promises to do anything he can to help me. My childhood friend, Delly, acts as if nothing has changed. She has always been kind to me.

"You're not alone, Peeta," Katniss whispers to me. "You have friends who are going to help you through this."

'And I have you.'

She gives me a genuine smile. "And you have me."

I wouldn't be able to do this without her. She has been my biggest supporter from day one. Because of her, I know that there are people who care about me for who I am, not what I can offer them. The important thing is that I'm alive and surrounded by friends.

Even so, it still bothers me that I can't talk. It will always bother me, but I will learn to live with it. I can't change the past or fix what they have done, but I can change the way I look at it. On the bright side, I won't have to worry about saying something I might regret.

As we are walking back to our apartment, President Coin steps out of her office and blocks our path. "We're airing the propo tonight. If all goes well, we will start working on another one tomorrow."

Katniss shakes her head. "Can't you leave Peeta out of this?"

"I'm afraid I can't, Ms. Everdeen. His condition is proof of the Capitol's cruelty," she says.

Speaking of cruelty, there are still people being tortured by the Capitol at this very moment. One of those people is Annie, the District 4 victor who is loved by Finnick. Katniss and I visited Finnick not too long ago, and he is falling apart without her. I had been tortured alongside her in the Capitol, and it pains me that she is still there and I am here. I write her name on my notepad and nudge Katniss.

"Peeta wants to know when you plan on rescuing Annie," she tells Coin.

Coin sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "We do not have soldiers to waste on a rescue mission for some unimportant girl."

Her response stirs something akin to rage inside of me. Annie is important to Finnick! How can Coin deny the poor girl a rescue simply because she is unknown in this district?

Katniss voices my thoughts. "She isn't unimportant! Your stupid rebellion caused all of this! It's your fault Peeta was captured; it's your fault Annie is still a captive. You should feel obligated to save her."

"I've had enough of you, Ms. Everdeen. Mr. Mellark will report to me tomorrow morning, and you will continue your training alone." She promptly spins on her heel and retreats into her office.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm upset by the time we make it back to our apartment. Katniss leads me inside and has me sit on the couch while she lets off some steam. I watch as she paces the living room, fists clenched and eyes narrowed. I haven't seen her this mad since she attacked me for telling all of Panem about my crush on her.

I try to get her attention but she ignores me. "I'm not showing up for training tomorrow," she says decisively. "And you're not going to be her slave!"

There is a knock on the door, and I get up to answer it. Castor and Pollux are there to greet me, and I welcome them into our home. When we enter the living room, she is still pacing around in anger.

Castor clears his throat. "Hello."

She stops to stare at them. "Oh. I forgot you two were coming."

The four of us sit down on the couch, and Castor tells us about a language that uses hand gestures to communicate. Pollux has us start off with simple greetings, farewells, and introductions. It takes us awhile to get the hang of it. When Katniss isn't looking, Pollux teaches me how to say 'I love you'. I'll have to remember that one.

"Ready to try something more complicated?" Castor asks us.

"How about small talk?" Katniss suggests. "I doubt he'll be having any deep conversations with anyone in this district."

Castor stifles a laugh. "Small talk it is."

I learn how to ask questions like 'how are you?' and 'what are you doing?'. Pollux shows me several ways I can answer these questions. I repeat the signs over and over again until they are ingrained in my mind.

"It's getting late," Castor informs us. "If you don't mind, we'd like to come back tomorrow and teach you some more signs."

I nod enthusiastically.

"That would be great," Katniss says.

Once they are gone, I begin getting ready for bed. I decide to take a quick shower to wash away the dirt from today's training session. The hot water makes me realize how exhausted I am. I step out of the shower and dress in my pajamas.

Katniss is curled up on the bed with the blanket draped over her. She opens her eyes when I enter the bedroom. "Hey."

'Tired?' I ask.

"You have no idea."

I crawl into bed beside her, and she nestles herself into my arms. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know that Katniss will help me through it. With that thought in mind, I close my eyes and drift into a dreamless sleep.

I wake up to Katniss urgently shaking my shoulder. It's nine in the morning. We're late. "Peeta, someone's at the door."

I barely have time to throw on some clothes before the front door bursts open. I slip out of the bedroom and shut the door as a man enters our apartment. I move to confront him.

"Where is Ms. Everdeen?" he asks.

I grab my notepad. 'Changing in the bedroom.'

He waits for her to join us before escorting us out of the apartment. Katniss is led to the training area, where the instructor promises not to let her out of his sight. I am taken to Coin's office and left under her supervision.

"You're late, Mr. Mellark," she says coldly.

'Sorry,' I write.

She takes my notepad from me and tosses it onto her desk. "I have a special job for you that doesn't require any form of communication."

I follow Coin to a room that is in a state of complete disarray. Papers litter the ground; filing cabinets are knocked over; empty folders are scattered everywhere. My jaw drops in shock. Does she expect me to _clean_ this mess?

"This is your first task." Coin places a metallic collar around my neck. "It's a tracker," she tells me. "I'll know where you are before you do." She steps out of the room and shuts the door behind her.

I spend hours organizing papers into the right folders and alphabetizing them in the correct filing cabinet. No one bothers me as I work. It takes me until well after lunch time to finish tidying the room. After I'm done, I wait in the hallway for Coin to come back.

She returns with an apple in hand. "You're done already?" She must know how hungry I am because she eats the entire apple in front of me. "Good. Your next task is to move the camera equipment out of storage and into the film room. We are shooting another propo tomorrow morning, whether you like it or not."

I am forced to lift heavy equipment and carrying it to the room at the end of the hall. If I don't do it quick enough, Coin scolds me. She is doing a great job of making me feel miserable. Is she tormenting me in order to punish Katniss? That must be it. The two obviously don't like each other.

Once that is done, Coin orders me to mop the floor in and around her office. I'm just about done when I notice that Katniss is watching me work. How long has she been standing there?

She tugs at the collar around my neck. "What is this thing?" She seems to realize something as soon as she yanks it off. "Is this a glorified dog collar?"

It does appear to be just a regular dog collar, not a tracker. I'm guessing that it's true purpose is to enrage Katniss. Something suddenly clicks in my brain, and I grab my notepad from Coin's desk. 'She _wants_ to anger you'.

"She doesn't like me," Katniss admits. "But I have an idea. It involves us getting Coin to agree to our demands."

We're hardly in a position to make demands, but I trust Katniss. If she has a plan, I'll go along with it. I just hope that our situation doesn't get any worse.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss and I take Finnick and Delly back to our apartment. She waits for Castor and Pollux to arrive before discussing her plan. We are going to band together and protest Coin's awful treatment of me. The goal is to send her a clear message: mess with me and you mess with all of us. Everyone instantly agrees to participate in the plan, and I'm grateful for their support.

"It's unfair of her to treat him poorly," Delly says sadly. To my relief, she doesn't mention my condition. It must not matter to her that I'm no longer able to talk.

Finnick is absently tying and untying a knot. "Coin isn't a nice lady."

"She wants to be in control," Castor tells us. "But the only person she can't control is Katniss."

Everyone turns to look at her, including me. She fidgets nervously. "Are you saying this is my fault?"

He shakes his head. "No. You couldn't have known that your actions would have caused her to react this way."

Pollux turns to his brother and signs something that I don't understand. He points at me and gives me a look, as if expecting me to say something. I tilt my head to the side in confusion.

"He wants to know your thoughts on Coin," Castor explains.

My thoughts on Coin? Well, I neither like her nor dislike her. She is the president of District 13, nothing more and nothing less. 'She seems stressed,' I reply.

Once again, everyone looks at Katniss. She sighs in frustration. "That might be my fault."

Finnick is studying his knot, as if expecting it to change shape in his hands. "So, what's our strategy going to be?"

She is quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "We're going to walk over to her office and demand fair treatment for Peeta."

"That's it? I'm sure that will go over well," Finnick replies. He straightens the rope and then begins fiddling with it again. I'm a little worried about him.

"It's settled, then." Delly leans over to pat my back. "Don't worry, Peeta. We're here for you."

I smile at her and sign a quick 'thank you.'

We decide to go through with the plan tonight. There's no point in waiting until morning. As we march toward her office, I notice that the hallway I cleaned earlier is covered in muddy footprints. It looks worse than before. I ignore my rising anger and knock on her door.

The door swings open to reveal an annoyed Coin. "Mr. Mellark, you left before I gave you permission."

I stare into her cold eyes for a long time. _Don't get angry, _I tell myself. _It's not worth it. _She_ is not worth it. _

Everyone seems to lose their nerve in front of the president. Katniss and Finnick are the first to confront her. She notices the rising tension and invites them into her office, leaving the rest of us alone in the hallway.

Delly avoids making eye contact with me. "Sorry, Peeta. She is a lot more intimidating than I imagined."

"It would have helped if we had a better strategy," Castor says. "A direct confrontation might make things worse."

As we wait for them to return, Pollux teaches me more signs. I'm getting better at communicating this way, but I miss being able to talk. The words would flow out without me really having to think about them. During the interviews, I said anything and everything to get the people of the Capitol to like Katniss. It was easy. If I were mute back then, the Games would have turned out much differently.

It's an hour before Katniss and Finnick rejoin us in the hallway. Her face is grim; his is oddly calm. Just what happened in that office?

"Well..." She nervously bites her lip. "We did it. She agreed to stop treating Peeta so disrespectfully. But there's a catch."

Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good. I can only imagine what Katniss might have agreed to in order to get me fair treatment. 'What is it?' I ask.

Finnick speaks up before she gets a chance to explain. "We're going on a rescue mission to free Annie and Johanna."

"We?" Delly repeats, sounding startled.

"Katniss, Peeta, Castor, Pollux, and I," Finnick clarifies. "The entire rescue will be filmed."

The five of us are going to the infiltrate the Capitol? But that's suicide! I'll be handed a gun and tossed into battle without even knowing how to use it. We will all be dead in a day. I can't let that happen.

I shake my head. 'No.'

Katniss and Finnick exchange a look. "Yes," she says firmly. "Someone has to save them. It might as well be us."

"They're giving us a week to train," he adds.

One week. Seven days to prepare for a mission that may be our last. I'm doomed. I won't be able to keep up with the others due to my prosthetic leg. This is not going to end well for me.

Katniss and I return to our apartment without saying so much as a goodbye to our friends. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of going back to the Capitol. What if Snow captures me? I don't want to be tortured again. I _can't_ be tortured again!

I crawl into the bed and immediately let my fears take over. What if I die? I don't want to die. There are so many things I've never gotten to do. I want to get married, have exactly two children, and live out the rest of my days in peace. I deserve that much for surviving the Games and the Quarter Quell.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading my story, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.<p> 


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